When in November?

[GoldenLulu13]

We are planning a trip for November 2015 for 4 adults. 2 people will be 1st timers and 2 of us will be making our 2nd trip. We would like to be there to take advantage of the Christmas decorations and events. I have read that some of the Christmas stuff does not start until Thanksgiving or after. We're trying to decide if it's worth it to pay higher holiday airfare and possibly miss out on the Free Dining Promo by waiting until after Thanksgiving. What holiday stuff would we be missing out on if we went Nov. 14-21, instead of going after Thanksgiving from Nov. 28-Dec.5? Thanks!

 

[ThistleMae]

I was wondering the exact same thing as I am going in November to view the Christmas decorations. From what I read everything starts going up right after Halloween. The resorts will start decorating as well. The giant tree in MK will not go up until December 1st....so we will miss seeing that. Also, in Epcot, the Candlelight Processional does not start until the day after Thanksgiving....so that is something I do want to see or listen to as I'm going through the park. Epcot also has Storytellers from around the World, in the countries, tellingthe country's Holiday traditions. That is the Friday after Thanksgiving as well. The missing of the MK tree isn't a deal breaker for me, as long as everything else is up, which it should be. Could other folks respond to this thread, please and thank you?

 

[disneyseniors]

We were there last November from the 18th to the 26th, day before Thanksgiving. When we first got there on the l8th, the tree was not up in our resort yet. It was put up on the 26th. The tree at MK was not up, but other Christmas decorations were up in MK. The main tree was up at Epcot and AK, HS. The Osbourne lights were presented at that time too. I don't know about earlier in the month, but most of the dec's were up when we got there. I honestly didn't miss the ones I mentioned.

 

[biim85]

Usually, Christmas decorations begin rolling out Nov 1 at Magic Kingdom with the other pakrs following and then the resorts. By the day after Thanksgiving everything is up. However the Osbourne lights are up and ready to tour by Nov 1. If I were planning a trip in November, I would go AFTER the Food and Wine Fest ends and before Thanksgiving. Lower crowds, less headache. But if ALL the Christmas decorations are important to you, shoot for as close to Thanksgiving as possible, but not actually the week of Thanksgiving.

 

[shana398]

We have visited Disney for the past four years in either November or December. I think the time we enjoyed the most was the first week in December, if that's doable for you. The airfare wasn't any higher for that week. I don't know if things have changed.

Last year we went the week before Thanksgiving -- not the week of -- and we enjoyed that, too. If I recall correctly, the big tree was up in MK. We did attend the Christmas party and the Osbourne lights. The Gingerbread house was up at the Grand Floridian. So I don't think we missed any of the Christmas decorations.

 

[cattywampus]

We went Nov 15-22. All the decor was up at MK (MVMCP were under way). We stayed at GF and gingerbread house was up but opened for sales on our last day. The tree was not up but it felt plenty Christmas-y.

 

[2binak]

We've been the week before Thanksgiving a few times. Last time, in 2013, every park had Christmas decorations and large trees up. MK didn't have the tree up yet up though. During that week, the resorts were getting decorations too. It's a slow week crowd-wise so you get low crowds and plenty of Christmas decorations to get in the Christmas spirit.

 

[GoldenLulu13]

Thanks everyone! Doesn't sound like we would be missing much if we went Nov 14-21. The candlelight processional would have been on our list, but not sure we could justify higher airfare and potentially missing out on Free Dining just for that! Also we found out that the Food and Wine Festival would still be going on until Nov 16. This is appealing to us, in addition to the Christmas decorations! Should we still expect large crowds in the last 2-3 days of Food and Wine?

 

[samsteele]

Don't forget to consider what your weather in your home town and airport might be when deciding upon your November dates. If from the north, early snowstorms can lead to stressful traveling. Last November, I watched on my hotel room tv as one of the first early storms swept across the northeast. I had to fly back a day or two later and since it was such a slow moving front, knew that it would be bad. When I flew back to Syracuse, I had a nasty drive north the next morning to the border. White out conditions and many cars in the ditch. If a concern for you, sometimes the earlier the better in November to avoid nasty travel conditions.

 

[2binak]

Thanks everyone! Doesn't sound like we would be missing much if we went Nov 14-21. The candlelight processional would have been on our list, but not sure we could justify higher airfare and potentially missing out on Free Dining just for that! Also we found out that the Food and Wine Festival would still be going on until Nov 16. This is appealing to us, in addition to the Christmas decorations! Should we still expect large crowds in the last 2-3 days of Food and Wine?

We went to the last night of F&WF last year and were surprised at how low the crowds were, but it was a Monday night so that might have been the reason. The longest line I stood in was 8 people deep and it moved quickly. I would NOT go on Sat or Sun during that last weekend.